October 7, 2009

We’re not sure where all the birthers went, but we can tell you where they’re going: some of the same folks who questioned whether Obama was really born in the U.S.A. and eligible to be President have started flocking to blogger Backyard Conservative’s claim that famous radical Bill Ayers told her something that proved what rightwing conspiracy theorist Jack Cashill has been saying all along: that Ayers did write Dreams of my Father, a book supposedly written by Barack Hitler Obama, whom everyone knows is actually illiterate.

Behold the money quote:

Then, unprompted he said–I wrote Dreams From My Father. I said, oh, so you admit it. He said–Michelle asked me to. I looked at him. He seemed eager. He’s about my height, short. He went on to say–and if you can prove it, we can split the royalties. So I said, stop pulling my leg. Horrible thought. But he came again–I really wrote it, the wording was similar. I said I believe you probably heavily edited it. He said–I wrote it. I said–why would I believe you, you’re a liar…

Sounds like he’s fucking with her, and Backyard Conservative is careful not to forthrightly claim the case proved — rackets like this rely on plausible deniability. Instead she takes the Questions Remain approach: “Is our President Barack Obama’s biography written by an unrepentant domestic terrorist?” (So do other conservatives, such as Dennis Byrne, who actually says, “But the question remains–is Barack Obama a fraud? ” We swear to you we don’t ghostwrite for these guys!)

That’s a good thing for what’s left of their pride, because Dave Weigel finds that Ayers had revealed before he met Backyard Conservative that he planned to mess with wingnuts about this — including the bit about the royalties.

But don’t worry — proof does nothing to stories like this. That Bill Ayers wrote Obama’s book will be turning up as accepted, scientific fact for years to come.